Medieval Arab historiography is essentially a matter of compilation, i.e. collection and redaction of materials already available in earlier works. Using the representative corpus of reports on a slave revolt, Franz examines the continually interpretive process of compilation, asking what was compiled, how this task was pursued, of what the finished work would ultimately consist, and how material was arranged and displayed. He develops comprehensive criteria for the evaluation of chronicles and opens up a new perspective for the literary and historical investigation of the primary sources.

Kurt Franzis a Research Fellow at the Department of Oriental Studies of the University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.